WASHINGTON, June 10, 2010 – In the wake of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. oil and natural gas industry has formed two additional task forces to address both short- and long-term issues related to subsea well control (stopping/mitigating the release of product at the point of origin) and spill response and cleanup.
“As an industry, we are continually reviewing our practices and improving where necessary, all areas of operations, especially in light of this tragedy,” said American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Jack Gerard. “We will be working across our industry, bringing together experts and specialists, to improve safety and environmental performance by learning from any gaps identified in the handling of this spill.”
The new task forces will be developed with the assistance of the American Petroleum Institute, the Independent Petroleum Association of America and the National Ocean Industries Association and bring together equipment manufacturers, subsea specialists, spill experts and deepwater contractors.
The new task forces will interact with Congress as they develop formal findings and recommendations to improve capabilities and technologies, and present these findings to the presidential commission for its consideration. The findings and recommendations also will assist industry to identify best practices to incorporate into future response planning and capability.
The task force focusing on subsea well control and response will address technologies and practices for controlling the release of oil from its source. It also will review equipment designs, testing protocols, research and development, regulations and documentation, and make recommendations for improvements. Among other things, it will look at various well-control procedures, including the “junk shot,” coffer dams, “top kill” and other subsea containment and collection methods.
The oil spill response task force will review existing spill-response processes and technologies, identify gaps and seek options to address those gaps through recommended practices and procedures, as well as research and development. Among other things, it will look at planning and pre-staging of assets, mechanical recovery methods, dispersants (including their toxicity and application), shoreline protection issues, bio remediation, unconventional response technologies, wetlands protection and the use of volunteers.
These two new task forces supplement two previously announced task forces, developed with the assistance of API and set up in May, which focus on offshore equipment and offshore operating practices.
API looks forward to working with the government on these issues.
Updated: June 10, 2010